Motorsport · Scotland · Competition association · not ownership

Jim Clark

1965 Lotus-Ford Type 38/1 · no. 82 · Indianapolis 500 winner

Green-and-yellow Lotus-Ford number 82 displayed at The Henry Ford beneath a wall identifying Jim Clark’s 1965 Indianapolis 500 victory.
The actual 1965 Indianapolis 500-winning Lotus-Ford Type 38/1 no. 82, photographed by Thomas Quine at The Henry Ford on March 22, 2022.Photo: Thomas Quine · CC BY 2.0. Joyride serves the 3840 × 2560 Commons delivery JPEG byte-for-byte. No crop, resize, retouching, generation or vehicle reconstruction; responsive presentation may crop displayed edges.
Jim Clark holding a wreath and trophy after winning the 1963 Dutch Grand Prix, photographed by Joop van Bilsen for Anefo.
Jim Clark1963 · Identification portraitJoop van Bilsen / Anefo · CC0 1.0. Joyride serves the current 600 × 800 Commons JPEG byte-for-byte. Commons records that CropTool extracted it from the Dutch National Archives frame at 77% horizontal and 76% vertical scale; Joyride adds no crop, retouching or generation. A responsive frame may crop displayed edges.

The little green car that ended the roadster era

Connection
Competition association · not ownership
When
Indianapolis 500 winner, May 31, 1965 · museum photograph March 22, 2022
Identity
Original 1965 Indianapolis 500-winning Lotus-Ford Type 38/1 · no. 82 · The Henry Ford object 77.21.1

Jim Clark started the 1965 Indianapolis 500 from second place in a green-and-yellow Lotus-Ford and finished first at a record average 150.686 mph. Lotus identifies his winner as Type 38/1. The Henry Ford identifies the same race-winning car as object 77.21.1 and records a 256-cubic-inch, double-overhead-cam Ford V-8, two-speed manual transmission and 1,250-pound competition weight.

This is a competition association, not personal ownership. Clark drove the individual no. 82 to victory on May 31, 1965; the museum record credits Ford Motor Company as donor and does not say Clark held title. Joyride therefore does not turn his race drive, the car’s fame or a photograph into an ownership claim.

The result changed Indianapolis. The Henry Ford says the lightweight, Formula One-inspired rear-engine design displaced the traditional front-engine roadster; no front-engine car won the 500 again. Thomas Quine photographed the actual no. 82 in The Henry Ford on March 22, 2022. That dated museum image extends the car’s public trail without claiming a later private owner, a roadgoing Lotus equivalent or coverage of the wider Type 38 history.

Documented custody

Where the car went next

  1. May 31, 1965Clark wins Indianapolis

    The Henry Ford records Clark qualifying second and winning in this individual Lotus-Ford at an average 150.686 mph.

  2. May 14, 2015The winner in the museum collection

    The Henry Ford’s transportation curator identified the preserved Type 38/1 while documenting the fiftieth anniversary of Clark’s victory.

  3. March 22, 2022The actual no. 82 photographed

    Thomas Quine photographed the car in The Henry Ford. The image documents museum display, not personal ownership.

Follow the evidence

Sources for this story

The Henry Ford identifies object 77.21.1 as the 1965 Lotus-Ford with which Jim Clark won the Indianapolis 500, and its curator identifies the car as Type 38/1. Lotus independently names Clark’s winner Type 38/1. Thomas Quine’s licensed museum photograph shows the exact no. 82. No personal ownership, current private owner, road-car equivalence or complete Type 38 family coverage is claimed.

  • 1965 Lotus-Ford Race CarThe Henry Ford · Collection record · reviewed 2026-10-04 · external source

    Object 77.21.1, the individual 1965 race winner, Clark’s drive, Ford V-8 and two-speed specification, race result, museum location and Ford Motor Company donation.

  • The 1965 Lotus-Ford: Resources at The Henry FordThe Henry Ford · 2015-05-14 · external source

    The Type 38 identity, Formula One-inspired layout, preserved museum car and the design shift away from front-engine Indy roadsters.

  • Lotus Type 38 · The mid-engined Lotus that conquered the Indy 500Lotus Cars · Official model history · reviewed 2026-10-04 · external source

    Clark’s winning car as Type 38/1, no. 82, and the 150.686 mph race average.

Reviewed

Why this is the actual car
  • Photo identity evidence

    The Henry Ford identifies object 77.21.1 as the 1965 Lotus-Ford with which Clark won the Indianapolis 500; its museum record describes no. 82’s exact race history and specification.

  • Photo identity evidence

    Thomas Quine identifies the March 22, 2022 photograph as the 1965 Indianapolis Lotus at The Henry Ford; Commons places it in the Lotus 38 in The Henry Ford Museum category and verifies CC BY 2.0.

The matching photographer, venue, date and vehicle history establish the identification; the chassis stamp is not visible in these photographs.